Rail Joints

Rail joints, usually called fishplate, commonly known as the joint bar, is a component that joint rails end-to-end. It is applied to light rail, heavy rail and crane rail. There are holes in the middle of the fish plate for rail bolt to screw. The top and bottom of the fish plate are made into slopes corresponding to the slope of the lower part of the railhead and the top part of the rail bottom. Thanks to the design which helps the joint bars wedge the rails, the rail joints can be bolted to the rail very tightly. Therefore, good rail joints can reduce the impact of wheels at the joint and improve the smoothness of the passing trains.

While welded rails are quickly developed and used more often, the rail joints still have their advantages of saving cost and labor since its simple and quick installation. The working state and safety performance of the rail joints directly affect the running state and safety of the line.

Types of Rail Joints

According to the raw materials used, rail joints can be divided into ductile iron, Q235 type, and Q255 rolling type, forging type, etc. In general, medium and high carbon steels are used as raw materials. According to different applications, rail joints can be divided into bolted rail joints, compromise rail joints and insulated rail joints.

• Bolted rail joints

Bolted rail joints are the primary choice for slow-speed, light transport railroads.

• Compromise rail joints

Compromise rail joints are needed when connecting two rails with different sizes. Unlike regular standard linear rail joints, compromise rail joint bars have irregular shapes.

• Insulated rail joints

Insulated rail joints are a new kind of track material made of high strength composite material. Belong to thermosetting material, the insulated rail joints can’t be reprocessed. Insulated rail joints can provide signals when the trains get to a position through electric isolation. Thus, it is widely used in the freight railroad to detect outages and control traffic jams.

Feature of insulated joints：

1. Good insulation reliability.
2. Lightweight and high strength.
3. Suitable for a wide range of temperatures, good low-temperature resistance (-55℃~85℃).
4. Good impact resistance and strong toughness.
5. Good aging resistance and long service life.
6. Water resistance, corrosion resistance, and good tolerance.
7. Lightweight, easy to carry, convenient to install, time-saving and efficient.
8. Maintenance-free insulation, high efficiency in troubleshooting.

Rail Joints for Sale

• Rail joints for light rail: 8kg, 9kg, 12kg, 15kg, 18kg, 22kg, and 30kg.
• Rail joints for heavy rail: 43kg, 50kg, and 60kg.
• Rail joints for crane rail: QU70, QU80, QU100, and QU120.

Rail Joints of International Standards

AREMA 2007

UIC864

BS 47-1

AS

Other track material such as gauge rods, rail clip, rail clamp, rail pad are available as well.